Rep. Val Demings, a Democrat running against Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in Florida, would not answer on Tuesday during a televised discussion whether or not she would accept the outcome of the election.
Demings did not provide a direct answer when asked by Rick Christie, the executive director of The Palm Beach Post and a panelist at the debate if she would “respect outcomes of the 2022 election.” Instead, she offered a narrative about how much her mother and father valued the right to vote.
“Excuse me, but let me begin here. Even though my mom, a maid, and my dad, a janitor, put in long hours at the office, I never knew a time when they didn’t vote “in her words “They would have paid someone a few bucks to drive them to the polls if their own vehicle had broken down. No good could come from preventing them from casting a ballot. Democracy, the great form of governance we have, allowed them to cast ballots. Our government isn’t flawless, but it’s what’s keeping us all here tonight.”
“Each person’s right to vote should be safeguarded, including that of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We must do all in our ability to maintain the constitution, protect the rule of law, and safeguard our democracy. As a cop and later a police chief, that’s exactly what I did. I swore to uphold and preserve this Constitution not only for individuals who looked like me or the wealthiest of the affluent but for everyone “Finally, she drew a conclusion.
“Since my father was a bartender, I have no idea who the wealthy are. and my mum worked in housekeeping, so we share something in common, “Rubio spoke up now. “I can say with absolute certainty that I have never, in my whole life, tried to prevent somebody from becoming elected. Unlike Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, I have never contested my own election. Even though I believe elections don’t need regulations, I think Florida has outstanding election laws. Rep. Demings voted in favor of this federal takeover of elections. Can you imagine what that would be like? No identification is required. You have every right to ask for ID to enter the area where she resides, but you can’t do so when they cast their ballots in an election?”
Senator Marco Rubio has spoken out in support of Florida’s election regulations, arguing that they are “policies that allow people to have faith that their vote counted and their vote mattered.”
When asked about the same issue, Rubio vowed his “total” support for the outcome of the election thanks to the “excellent” election laws in Florida.
Yes, because I’m going to win, Rubio remarked. “I want to be able to back it, but certainly, I will back it regardless of the outcome, because Florida has solid laws. Unlike the laws in areas like Pennsylvania, these ones make sense.”
The event was hosted by Palm Beach State College at its Lake Worth location.
Spectrum News/Siena College found in their September survey of likely voters that Rubio was ahead of Demings 48% to 41%.
A “lean Republican” rating was given to the Florida Senate contest by Fox News’s Power Rankings.
Florida’s midterm election is on November 8, and Rubio and Demings are the two major party candidates.